12 | Can love be cured?
—
At the professor's words telling me not to forget, I stared intently at him for a moment before looking away. I felt like my heart would go blank if I stayed like this. The professor was watching me with a smile, and at his smile, my heart pounded like crazy.
“…What does that mean?”
It’s exactly what I meant. Don’t go out of your way to make it hard to forget.
“… You can’t not be able to forget.”
"why?"
“If I can’t forget you, it will be hard for both of us, Professor. I’ll be avoiding you every day…”
“Why are you avoiding me?”
“…Because my heart beats like crazy whenever I see you, Professor.”
I can't control my heart either.
"My heart feels the same way, so..."
The moment I heard those words, my body froze for a moment, but it didn't take long to understand. As soon as I grasped it, my cheeks flushed instantly, and my heart began to beat at a level unlike anything I had ever felt before.
“…What did you just say…”
“My heart races for you too, just as much as yours.”
“But why have you been doing this until now?”
What did I do?
“You rejected my confession… You know how hard it was for me.”
Sorry, I wasn't flexible.
“I haven’t been able to date until now because I’ve been busy with work, so since you’re my first, I was really clumsy too.”
Eventually, tears flowed from my eyes, and the professor seemed quite flustered by them. He carefully wiped my tears and asked why I was crying.
“Why are you crying, why?”
“…Because I’m happy, because I’m glad.”
If you're happy, you should smile. Why are you crying?
I really thought I was going to get dumped by the professor.
“Professor, I was wondering how I would view this… It’s a relief.”
“Still, we can’t let anyone find out. An office romance is a risk factor in a hospital.”
Yes, I love you.
“… What’s with the sudden change? That’s embarrassing.”
“What? You should do that for me too.”
“…I have surgery, so I’m leaving first!”
The professor left as if fleeing, and I smiled as I watched their retreating figure. What is this contradictory feeling—happy and smiling naturally, yet choking up and unable to stop the tears?
After finishing all the patient consultations, I went to the professor's office. The professor was wearing glasses he didn't usually wear and appeared to be looking at a medical chart, so I knocked and cautiously entered the room.
“I told no one to come… huh?”
Can't I come too?
No, it works.
You look even more handsome with glasses on, Professor.
“…Don’t say things like that, I’m shy.”
"Ah, I came because I'm sick."
“What? Where does it hurt?”
“Um… the heart, the heart.”
I know exactly why I'm sick, but I don't know how to treat it.
“Professor, can love be cured?”